Spotify saw its global Premium Subscriber base grow to 293 million paying users in Q1. The company also achieved record quarterly operating profitability in the three months to the end of March.
That’s according to the company’s latest financial results (for Q1 2026), filed this morning (April 28).
Spotify’s Premium Subscriber base at the close of Q1 was up by +3 million net subs on the 290 million that the firm counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q4 2025).
This +3 million growth was in line with the company’s guidance.
Spotify reported that this Premium Subscriber performance was fuelled by “broad-based regional growth, led by Latin America and Europe” as well as “strong global promotional campaign intake”.
Spotify breaks down its Premium Subscriber base by region in its investor presentation (see below), reporting that Europe accounted for 36% of its total Premium Subscriber base as of the end of Q1.
North America accounted for 25% of SPOT’s total subscriber base in Q1, while Latin America accounted for 24%. Rest of World accounted for the remaining 15%.
Monthly Active Users:
Spotify’s total Monthly Active Users, which combine paying users and ad-supported users, grew 12% year-over-year to 761 million.
That was up +10 million MAUs from the 751 million reported for the prior quarter (Q4 2025), and above guidance by 2 million (Spotify forecast that it would reach 759 million MAUs in Q1).
Spotify said MAU performance in Q1 reflected: “Broad-based regional growth, with outperformance led by Rest of World and North America,” plus “mobile free tier enhancements driving accelerated user growth”.
REVENUE
Spotify generated EUR €4.533 billion (USD $5.30bn) in total quarterly revenue in Q1 (including Premium and ad-supported), up 14% YoYat constant currency.
Spotify’s Premium/subscriber revenues grew 15% YoY at constant currency to €4.148 billion ($4.85bn), driven by subscriber growth.
The firm’s Premium monthly ARPU stood at €4.76 ($5.57) — up5.7% YoY at constant currency.
Spotify noted in its investor presentation that “excluding the impact of FX, ARPUperformance was driven by price increase benefits, partially offset by product/market mix”.
The company’s latest round of price hikes included a US increase in January that raised the individual Premium plan from $11.99 to $12.99 per month, following similar increases in the UK and Switzerland in late 2025 and across multiple markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.
Spotify’s Ad-Supported Revenue in Q1 2026 was €385 million ($450.5m), up 3% YoY at constant currency. The company said growth in music advertising was driven by increased impressions sold, partially offset by softness in pricing, while podcast advertising growth was led by sponsorship gains.
PROFITABILITY
In terms of profitability, Spotify posted a record quarterly operating income of €715 million ($836.8m) for Q1.
That was up46% YoYat constant currency — coming in well above the company’s guidance of €660 million (see below), due to lower Social Charges and Gross Margin strength.
SPOT reported that its operating income included a negative €39 million ($45.6m) in Social Charges, which were €49 million below forecast “due to share price movement during the quarter”.
Spotify explained to investors: “As a reminder, Social Charges are payroll taxes associated with employee salaries and benefits in select countries where we operate. Since a portion of these taxes is tied to the intrinsic value of share-based compensation awards, movements in our stock price can lead to fluctuations in the taxes we accrue.”
Excluding the effects of currency and Social Charges, the company said operating expenses rose 17% YoY, primarily driven by increased marketing spend alongside higher cloud and AI investment.
Spotify reported a net income of €721 million ($843.58m) for the quarter, compared to net income of €1.174 billion in Q4 2025 and €225 million in Q1 2025.
The company’s Gross Margin finished at 33.0% in Q1 2026, up from 31.6% in Q1 2025.
GUIDANCE FOR Q2
In terms of guidance for Q2, Spotify forecasts reaching 778 million MAUs at the close of June, an addition of approximately 17 million net new MAUs in the quarter.
The company projects its total Premium Subscriber base to hit 299 million by the end of Q2, an addition of approximately 6 million net new subscribers.
Spotify also forecasts an operating income of €630 million for Q2 — alongside total quarterly revenue of €4.8 billion and a gross margin of 33.1%.
The €630 million operating income forecast came in below the LSEG-compiled Wall Street consensus of approximately €684 million. Spotify’s Q2 subscriber guidance of 299 million was also below analyst estimates of around 302 million. Shares of the company fell approximately 9% in premarket trading.
“Overall, we view the business as well positioned to deliver improved growth and margins in 2026 as we reinvest to support our long-term potential,” said Spotify in its investor presentation on Tuesday (April 28).
“We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike.”
Alex Norström
Alex Norström, Co-CEO, said: “We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike.
“Since the global rollout of our more personalized free experience, users in key markets like the US are listening and watching more days per month.
“All that reinforces our confidence in sustained user and subscriber growth, low churn, and continued progress on revenue and margin.”
“We’re well positioned because of our large, engaged user base, deep creator relationships, and years of investment in personalization and infrastructure at scale.”
Gustav Söderström
Gustav Söderström, Co-CEO, said: “We’re well positioned because of our large, engaged user base, deep creator relationships, and years of investment in personalization and infrastructure at scale.
“Together, these create a platform that can take advantage of this moment and unlock entirely new growth vectors that will enable us to climb new mountains previously unimaginable. We see significant room to grow across users, formats and engagement and to expand what Spotify is and can become over time.”
All EUR-USD conversions in this report made at the average quarterly rate for Q1 2026 according to the European Central Bank.
